With the lack of quality in the minor leagues clear wouldnt Dolan find better use of his money than paying his scouting staff by joining his president and his gm on the cruise this winter?

Everyone likes Paulino. Which I hope doesn't mean that he either:

a. Turns out to be 4 years older and named Esteban Martinez or
b. Is suspended for 50 games for using performance enhancing drugs and can't hit without them or
c. Trips while playing a pickup basketball game in Goodyear, breaks his wrist in 4 places and is never the same or
d. Is the key part of a big Chris Antonetti deal to acquire FILL IN THE BLANK

bob (atl): hi, thanks for the chat. how does paulino compare with another young SS adalberto mondesi?


Ben Badler: I like Paulino more, but I'll give the Royals credit because Mondesi surprised quite a few people. The way one guy put it to me, he didn't understand why the heck the Royals would send a 16-year-old kid like Mondesi to the Pioneer League; then he saw him play and understood why. Mondesi isn't really a toolsy guy, but he has good game awareness and a much better chance to stick as a true shortstop than Paulino does. But Paulino's bat is on another level. I liked Ronald Guzman, Victor Sanchez and Roberto Osuna a lot when they signed last year and still do, but Paulino's looking like the best prospect so far from the 2011 international signing class.

Kelly (St. Cloud, MN): What did evaluators have to say about Elvis Araujo's time in the MWL?


Ben Badler: Big time arm strength from the left side, usually 90-94 mph but can jump up higher. The durability, pitchability and secondary stuff are all pointing toward a relief role, but I think it's something he can be effective with. Put him in short stints and you probably have a guy who's sitting in the mid-90s from the left side with a slider that could be an average pitch; there's a spot for a guy like that in a big league bullpen.

Oh good, another reliever.

My questions are the ones that approach things from a negative i.e. realistic perspective

Elliot (Youngstown OH): Does anyone in the farm system project as a high end starter? The Indians are producing an awful lot of 4th and 5th starters but that doesn’t make a winning franchise.


Ben Badler: Not that I see, and I agree. They've really struggled for a decade now to produce frontline or even mid-rotation starters from either the draft or their international signings, and it's a big reason why their starting rotation this year was such a disaster. I'll have more on that in a story that should run online soon.

NOT SURE WHAT ELSE WE WILL LEARN, MAYBE WHO"S TO BLAME FOR THIS CONTINUING INEPTITUDE

Jaypers413 (IL): Between Jorge Martinez and Anthony Santander, who were evaluators more bullish on in terms of tools and ceiling? Thanks, Ben.


Ben Badler: Definitely Santander. I heard rumbling last year that they might push Santander to the Arizona League, and when they actually did it I thought he'd be in way over his head. Obviously that wasn't the case at all and the performance was very strong, but it's not really a conventional stroke and he does tend to overswing, so he still has further to go than the pure numbers might suggest. Martinez will show you some tools in flashes, but there doesn't seem to be much confidence that he'll hit once he gets out of rookie ball.

SANTANDER: My Breakout Man of 2013.

Elliot (Youngstown OH): Do Trey Haley or Shawn Armstrong project as solid relievers?


Ben Badler: That's their upside, although in very different ways. Haley has plenty of power in his arm, regularly hits the high-90s, but he fights his delivery and that causes him to lose the strike zone and give away too many free baserunners. Armstrong doesn't throw quite as hard but he's anywhere from 90-95 and it sneaks up on hitters because he gets great extension. He's another guy who need to be in the strike zone a lot more often, but the stuff is absolutely there to stick around in middle relief.

Simon from Scotland I both seem to overrate Urshela. He really did have a good offensive year and improved over the course of the summer.

Simon (Scotland): How far was Giovanny Urshela from making the list? Has he restored his status a bit after last season?


Ben Badler: Wouldn't say he's close to the Top 10, but he's definitely in the 30. Nothing to complain about defensively. Rocket arm, great hands, instincts, range--you name it, he's got it, at least in the field. The hand-eye coordination shows up in the batter's box too, but he's like a lot of young hitters where that ability to put the bat to the ball is a gift and a curse because he expands the strike zone or offers at pitches on the black that he needs to learn to take instead of tapping for weak contact. The power started to come on this year, which was encouraging, but the approach still needs major work. If he can become a more selective hitter, boom, you've got something very interesting, but that's a big (and not uncommon) "if."

WELL, I AGREE HE RARELY WALKS BUT HE SEEMS CAPABLE OF IMPROVEMENT SO I STILL LIKE HIS UPSIDE

What happened to Chun Chen? Is there any chance he returns to being a catcher?


Ben Badler: He hit well in the lower minors, but we've always ranked him relatively conservatively because of the concern that he'd have to move off catcher. They tried, but I don't think it's an option going forward for him, which really drops his stock.

OK GUYS: CHEN DOES NOT GO BACK BEHIND THE PLATE, JUST LIKE GARKO NEVER DID

Me being negative again:

Elliot (Youngstown OH): Indians rated a solid 29th last year in BA’s assessment of farm systems. The White Sox who were 30th were called much improved by Phil Rogers on Monday. Have the Indians now reached the bottom?


Ben Badler: Well I'm writing up the Angels farm system right now, so I can pretty confidently say the Indians are not No. 30. I like Kaleb Cowart, but he might be the No. 3 guy if he were in the Indians farm system, and the Angels system is not exactly beaming with depth right now either.

BUT THE ANGELS HAVE TROUT AND A MAJOR LEAGUE TEAM THAT CONTENDS.

Frank (Chicago): About how far did Tony Wolters' stock drop since this time last year?


Ben Badler: Well his first half was ugly, but if you look at his second-half numbers, he finished the season strong, and I think we have to remember that the Indians had him skip a level to jump to the Carolina League. His at-bat management improved a lot as the season went on and he did show more power as he got further removed from the hamate injury, so maybe there's a chance he's an offensive-oriented second baseman, but even then I think you're projecting a fair amount the bat to see an everyday player.

Karl of Delaware (Georgetown, Delaware): Is pitcher, and fellow Delawarean, Rob Bryson still a prospect that gets to be included in the top 30 of the Prospect Handbook?


Ben Badler: He can miss bats, but the combination of health concerns of control problems make for a pretty high risk factor for a guy who's ceiling is fairly limited as a middle reliever. There's something there, but it's going to take a lot of things to go right for him to stick.

I THINK HIS ONE WORD ANSWER WAS "NO".

JOE WON'T LIKE THIS ANSWER

Elliot (Youngstown OH): Speaking of Secondbasemen: Jose Ramirez had a very productive half season with Lake County. And Tony Wolters recovered from a very poor start to finish strong at Carolina. Do you see much upside in their future?


Ben Badler: Just hit on Wolters, but I do like Ramirez as a sleeper. He's an outstanding runner, he's a solid defender at second base and he's hit everywhere he's been, including this winter in the Dominican Republic, albeit in an obviously small sample size down there. It's hard to find scouts who really warm up to him though, in no small part (pun not really intended) because he's, maybe, 5-9. There's not much power there and the physical projection is minimal, so there's concerns how that's going to project as he moves up.

BEATING A DEAD HORSE DEPARTMENT, OR WHEN THERE ARE NO OUTFIELDERS IN THE ORGANIZATION WHO ARE ANY GOOD, DON'T GIVE UP ON ANY OF THEM

Rich (Central NJ): What's the over/under on Nick Weglarz cutting down on his strikouts, staying healthy and making it to the big leagues where his OBP & power could be useful? Thanks,


Ben Badler: Well he's a minor league free agent now. The power and the patience are there, but the uppercut stroke and lack of any defensive profile really work against him.

HERE'S ONE FOR KENM:

Shane (Akron, OH): Paulino's skillset reminds me a lot of another converted Indian SS, Brandon Phillips. Is that a fair assessment of what kind of upside he would have at 2B?


Ben Badler: I think Paulino is the best infield prospect the Indians have had in their system since Phillips, but they're different types of players. If anything, Paulino might have the more advanced bat and more advanced approach than Phillips did, especially at the same age, so there's more potential for Paulino to hit for a higher batting average and get on base more than Phillips does. On the other hand, Paulino runs pretty well, but he's not as athletic or as gifted defensively as Phillips.